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wellness for nerds

david masterton and dr rebecca chabot 4 Episodes Oct 5, 2026

Science-backed wellness for high performers, hosted by Dr Rebecca Chabot and David Masterton. They translate real research on stress, busyness, habits and performance into practical tools. Expect honest stories, occasional dad jokes, and zero guru-speak. Aimed at business owners, knowledge workers, scientists, and parents. Recorded in Tasmania, with new video episodes weekly.

Episodes

Chronic Stress: How to Recover When It Doesn't Stop | E12 Oct 5, 2026 00:24:03 Can't escape work stress? You can still recover. A listener asked us whether you can live with chronic stress, like work or study, without being chronically stressed. Or do you need to quit everything and go live in the mountains?Rebecca answers as an ecologist: in nature, stress arrives as a pulse, the system is disturbed, and then it recovers. Chronic stress never lets go, not even in your s

ADHD and Relationships: Are You Talking AT Them? | E11 Sep 28, 2026 00:24:54 "I won the debate. I lost their heart." The finale of our ADHD series: what ADHD does to relationships, romantic, family and work.David opens up about the unhealed version of himself: ADHD, anxious attachment, highly sensitive to rejection and to injustice. When he felt unseen, he'd use logic and evidence to prove why he was hurt, and keep going until the message landed. Two relation

ADHD and Habits: Focus, Phones and Procrastination | E10 Sep 19, 2026 00:23:41 Phone on silent didn't work. Phone in another room did. Habits, focus, and why David's procrastination was always fear. Part 3 of 4 in our ADHD series.Rebecca starts with what a habit actually is: an automated behaviour your subconscious runs so your conscious mind is free for the new stuff. Which means bad habits are automated too, and changing one takes real effort. Her tools are small a

ADHD and Your Nervous System: Cold Water and Yoga | E9 Sep 14, 2026 00:21:43 Cold water, yoga, a five-second cold shower: they all train the same thing, your nervous system's tolerance for stress. Part 2 of 4 in our ADHD series. Last week was the mind, this week is the body.Rebecca explains hormetic stress: a small, controlled dose of a stressor, like cold water, that trains your nervous system to regulate when the uncontrolled stress arrives. She covers the safety che

ADHD and Meditation: Can a Busy Brain Actually Do It? | E8 Sep 7, 2026 00:29:32 THE ADHD SERIESPart 1: Meditation and the busy brain (this episode)Part 2: Cold water, yoga and your nervous system (E9) Part 3: Habits, focus and procrastination (E10) Part 4: ADHD and relationships (E11) "My brain never switches off, so I can't meditate." Rebecca hears it constantly from clients with ADHD, and her answer is: neither does anyone's. Every human brain thinks. That

Netflix Isn't Recovery (You're Just Soothing) | E7 Aug 31, 2026 00:26:29 You scrolled through your lunch break. You watched two hours of Netflix to switch off. Neuroscientists say that isn't recovery, it's just soothing, because your brain is still being stimulated the whole way through. This episode is the practical follow-on to last week: what real recovery actually looks like, especially at work.Rebecca explains why workplace culture starts at the top, and t

Why Burnout Is a Prevention Problem | E6 Aug 22, 2026 00:24:52 Burnout is a real clinical diagnosis, and it builds quietly over months or years before it ever announces itself. By the time you feel it, the cleanup is expensive. So this episode is about prevention, the same way you'd prevent a cyberattack.Fresh off Hobart's CyberCon, Rebecca draws the parallel: organisations invest in cyber prevention because reacting after an incident costs data, mone

There Is No One Authentic Self | E5 Aug 15, 2026 00:24:37 "Fake it till you make it" gets one thing wrong: new behaviour feels fake because it's unfamiliar, not because it's inauthentic. That awkwardness when you try something new isn't fraudulence, it's neuroplasticity doing its job.Following on from last week's identity episode, Rebecca challenges the idea that there's one authentic self you're supposed to find, an

Strong Identity, Loosely Held | E4 Aug 8, 2026 00:24:56 Your identity protects you, until it starts breaking you. Fresh off her TEDx Hobart talk "Strong Identity Loosely Held", Dr Rebecca Chabot unpacks why a rigid identity keeps your nervous system in permanent defense, and what it costs you.David brings the stranded-island test (who are you without the job, the possessions, the star sign?) and the uncomfortable truth that the old identity h

Why You're Always "Busy" (and How to Stop) | E3 Jul 31, 2026 00:25:32 "Busy" has become a handshake: a badge of honour that hides what we actually feel. Problem is, your brain is listening every time you say it.This week we pick apart the busyness script: why "how are you?" "busy!" is really a social dance, why Rebecca made a conscious decision years ago to never answer with "busy", and what the research says about language li

What Chronic Stress Does to Your Brain | E2 Jul 31, 2026 00:31:06 Chronic stress takes your brain's decision-maker offline, turns everything into a crisis, and fogs your memory. This week we get into what's actually happening in your head, and the trainable skill that reverses it.Rebecca breaks down the difference between acute and chronic stress and what an always-on nervous system does to the prefrontal cortex (decisions), amygdala (reactivity) and hip

Science-Backed Wellness, No Woo Required | E1 Jul 30, 2026 00:26:29 A PhD scientist and a recovering corporate high performer walk into a podcast. Welcome to Wellness for Nerds: real science, honest stories, zero woo.In episode one we introduce ourselves properly: how a panel about performing at a high level without losing your peace turned into this show; Rebecca's path from biochemistry to a PhD in ecology to translating science for the rest of us; David&#39

wellness for nerds

Episodes

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